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The Arctic wasteland: a perspective on Arctic pollution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

Norman Davis
Norman Davis
Affiliation:
Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER
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Abstract

Arctic pollution has become a focus of attention as a result of the admission byRussia of former indiscriminate dumping of radioactive waste in the Kara Sea; thus, radionuclides in the Arctic Basin have become a major cause for concern. Evidence for the bioaccumulation of toxic contaminants such as organochlorines, PCBs, and heavy metals in the Arctic food webwould seem to raise questions about this issue, there being little evidence of significant levels of radionuclide contamination in higher orders of the chain. However, there is growing evidence of a major influx of toxic material into the Arctic Basin, from riverine input and atmospheric deposition, which is transported to biologically active melt fronts. This suggests thatthe serious polluting of the Arctic Basin, combined with bioaccumulation processes, particularly for organochlorines and trace metals, is a major cause for concern. There is, then, a requirement for an overview of current information on Arctic pollutants, with a consideration of source, transport, and accumulation processes, in order to be able to apply some perspective to the situation, to quantify and qualify the problems, and to suggest appropriate actions.

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Polar Record , Volume 32 , Issue 182 , July 1996 , pp. 237 - 248
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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